We have learnt many different traditions which involves Arts & Performance, for eg the other teams did plays regarding the lifestyle of the people of Murut,Kadazan and etc. Besides that, there were dance performance using the bamboos where they move their feet between the bamboos. Not only learning from the groups but our group recited a poem about the people of Penan. In conclusion, we not only had the exposure and learning experience but we also gained confidence performing on stage and build stronger bonds within our group members.
Penan Group
Friday 27 November 2015
Wednesday 25 November 2015
Performance
One of our members writing down the script for our poem. |
The completed script. |
Tuesday 24 November 2015
PREPARATIONS FOR UPCOMING PERFORMANCE
We are presenting a poem about Penan culture and traditions as our performance. We divided ourselves into 2 groups. One of the group is in charged on researching about Penan cultures and traditions from the internet and encyclopedia while the other group wrote the poem by elaborating the information that our friends found from the internet and other sources.
Monday 23 November 2015
Importance to Preserve the Culture
Importance to Preserve the Culture...
- An essential component in understanding our nation's identity.
- To connect to one's personal culture and family history.
- To reinvent their past in order to interpret their future.
- Contribute to our country's cultural and economic well-being.
- Evolution of human consciousness is a continuous process.
- Life wouldn't be too boring.
Tuesday 17 November 2015
Background of Penan People
About
The Penan are
a nomadic aboriginal people living in Sarawak and Brunei. Penan are one of
the last such peoples remaining as hunters and gatherers. The Penan are noted for their practice
of 'molong' which means never taking more than necessary.
Most Penan were
nomadic hunter-gatherers until the post-World War II missionaries settled many of the Penan, mainly in the Ulu-Baram
district but also in the Limbang district. They eat plants, which are also used
as medicines, and animals and
use the hides, skin, fur, and other parts for clothing and shelter.
Demographics
The
Penan number around 16,000 of which only approximately 200 still live a nomadic
lifestyle. Penan numbers have increased since they began to settle. The Penan
can be broken down into 2 groups which are known as Eastern Penan and Western Penan.
The Eastern Penan resides around Miri, Baram, Limbang and Tutoh whereas the
Western Penan resides around Belaga.
They
can be considered as a native group in their own right, with a language
distinct from other neighbouring native groups such as the Kenyah, Kayan, Murut
and Kelabit. However, in government censuses they are more broadly classified
as Orang Ulu(Upriver People) and Dayak(all of Sarawak’s indigenous people).
The
Penan speaks Malayo-Polynesian which is a branch of the Austronesian language
family. It forms an own group within the Borneo branch of the
Borneo-Philippines languages. It may be somewhat related to the Kenyah
languages and might show some evidence of a non-Austronesian substratum that
might be related to Orang Asli type of language.
Penan communities were
predominantly nomadic up until 1950s. Since 1950, consistent programmes by the
state government and foreign Christian missionaries to settle Penan into
longhouse-based villages cause most of the Penan to abolish their nomadic
lifestyle.
The Penan now cultivate
rice and garden vegetables but many rely on their diets of sago, jungle fruits
and their prey which usually include wild boar, barking deer, mouse deer and
also snakes. Since they practice ‘molong’, they pose little strain on the
forest: they rely on it and it supplies them with all they need. They are
outstanding hunters and catch their prey using a ‘kelepud’ (blowpipe) made of
Belian Tree (superb timber) and carved out with unbelievable accuracy using a
bone drill. The darts are made of sago palm and tipped with poisonous latex of
Tajem tree. The poisonous latex can kill a human in a matter of minutes.
Everything that is caught is shared among the Penan, so there is no such word
as ‘Thank You’ because help is assumed. However, ‘jian kenin’ which means feel
good is typically used in settled communities, as a kind of equivalent to ‘Thank
You’.
There are very few Penan living in Brunei anymore and their way of life
is changing due to the pressure that encourage them to live in permanent
settlements and adopt year-around farming.
Monday 16 November 2015
Upcoming Performance
We will be performing a poem about the Penan. The poem will be about the history and cultures of Penan ethnic group.
Group Members
1. Ng Xia Yi
2. Tang Phooi Yee
3. Cheryl Law Wei Yee
4. Samantha Ling Jinn Yee
5. Shaila A/P R Ramakirshnam
6. K Ghaythree A/P Kupparedy
7. Tan Ling Yan
8. Chuah Sze Ern
9. Chuah Yao Zhuang
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